Means for heading steel shells



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United States PatentO 3,026,598 MEANS FDR HEADING STEEL SIELLS George Albert Lyon, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Lyon Incorporated, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Dela- Ware Original application Apr. 26, 1955, Ser. No. 504,015.

Divided and this application July 30, 1958, Ser. No.

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-131) The present invent-ion relates to improvements in means for making steel shells, especially of the large bomb head or guided missile variety.

The present application is a division of my application Serial No. 504,015 filed April 26, 1955.

An important object of the present invention is to provide improved apparatus for work hardening a base end portion of a drawn steel shell.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for cold work heading a drawn shell.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel heading die and punch structure.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

The single FIGURE is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a cold heading apparatus, showing a drawn steel shell in the apparatus at the conclusion of the heading operation.

A steel shell 15 is drawn from suitable steel material to provide a tubular side wall 45 of predetermined inside and outside diameter with a central aperture 37 in a substantially thicker base wall 44. At its open end the shell has a thickened collar 47 provided with an external bevel 48 joining the outside diameter of the shell wall 45.

As drawn, the base wall 44 may be of fiat or concaveconvex substantially uniform thickness and the central aperture 37 will be of a limited diameter, having served as a pilot hole in the base wall.

The apparatus of the present invention, comprising a heading die assembly 58 acts to cold work shape and form the base wall 44. To this end, a heading plunger or punch 59 carried by a reciprocable ram 60 is engageable within the shell 15, while a die structure including a die block 61 provided with a bore 62 receives the base end portion of the shell closely. By preference, the punch 59 includes a plurality of separable, stacked cylindrical shank blocks 63 of smaller outside diameter than the inside diameter of the shell wall 45 and held in assembly with the ram 60 by means of a centrally extending bolt 64 which at its threaded extremity is secured into a heading terminal block 65 of a diameter to fit closely within the shell wall 45 adjacent the base wall 44.

Mounted within a central downwardly opening recess 67 in the tip end of the hardened heading block 65 is a hardened taper nosed heading nipple 68 adapted when the heading punch is driven into the shell and toward a reciprocable heading die block 69 in the lower end of the die bore 62 to project into and enlarge the base wall perforation or opening 37 of the shell by radially outwardly displacing the material of the base wall.

Cold working of the shell base Wall 44 by the heading effected between the heading face of the heading punch block 65 and the heading face of the die block 69, with the heading nipple 68 cooperating therewith, redistributes the material of the base wall 44 into an annular mass of substantial cross-section in line with the side wall 45 of the shell and a central annular thickened portion 70 that has the central opening 37 thereof substantially enlarged and tapered conform-able to the heading nipple 68. Be-

3,026,596 Patented Mar. 27, 1962 ice tween and connecting the thickened annular portions of the base wall is a circular thin portion from which material has been displaced into the annular thickened portions by cooperative action of opposing annular coactive forming ribs 71 and 72 on and spaced a limited distance from the perimeters of respectively the nose end heading face of the heading block 65 and the heading end portion face of the heading die 69. For accommodating the tip portion of the heading nipple 68 a clearance recess 73 is provided in the central portion of the die member 69. As will be apparent in the drawing, the central recess 67 is of limited depth and of a substantially smaller diameter than the adjacent diameter of the rib 71, and the heading nipple 68 which is mounted in the recess 67 has a portion of substantial length projecting beyond the punch heading face and tapering substantially smaller toward its tip. All of the clearance recess 73 centrally in the die block heading face and particularly the lower and smaller end thereof is of substantially smaller diameter than the punch face recess 67 and substantially complemen-tary to the tapered portion of the heading nipple 68 to abuttingly receive the tapered portion after it has been forced through an originally smaller opening in a shell base wall to enlarge the base wall opening by radially outward displacement of material of the base wall lying against the heading face of the die block 69. The bottom of the clearance recess '73 opens into a clearance passage 74 for evacuation of air from the clearance recess. The heading face of the die block 69 immediately surrounding the clearance recess 73 supports the base wall 44 of the shell about the opening 37 in the shell base wall against substantial displacement into the clearance recess 73 while the tapered portion of the heading nipple 68 enlargingly displaces 'material radially in the base wall 44. The ribs 71 and 72 are coactive to displace material in the base wall 44 at the radially inner sides of the ribs coactively with the radially outward displacement effected by the tapered portion on the heading nipple 68.

While heading of the base wall 44 as described hardens the material to a certain extent, the hardness thereof will not, of course, be as great as that of the cold worked drawn side wall 45.

Following the heading operation, the heading punch assembly 59 is backed off from the die assembly 58 and the die member 69 is movable upwardly through the die bore 62 for stripping the headed shell from the die.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

In a heading die assembly for shells, a die block provided with a bore closely receptive of the base end por tion of a shell to hold the same against spreading, a reciprocable die block slidably operable in said bore and having a heading face disposed to oppose the outer side of the base wall of the shell, a reciprocable punch of a diameter to fit closely in the base end portion of the shell and having a heading face to engage the inner side of the base wall of the shell, the respective die and punch heading faces having opposing respective annular coactive forming ribs projecting therefrom and spaced a limited distance from the perimeters of the faces, said punch face having a central recess of limited depth and a substant-ially smaller diameter than the adjacent diameter of the rib on the punch face, a hardened heading nipple mounted in said punch face recess and having a portion of substantial length projecting beyond the punch face and tapering substantially small toward its tip, said reciprocable die block face having a clearance recess centrally therein, all of said clearance recess and particularly the lower and smaller end thereof being of substantially smaller diameter than said punch face recess and substantially complementary to said tapered portion of the heading nipple to abuttingly receive the tapered portion after it has been forced through an originally smaller opening in a shell base Wall to enlarge the base wall opening by radially outward displacement of material of the base wall lying against said reciprocable die block face, the bottom of said clearance recess opening into a clearance passage for evacuation of air from said clearance recess, said face of the reciprocable die block immediately surrounding the clearance recess supporting the base wall about the base wall opening against substantial displacement into the clearance recess while said tapered portion of the heading nipple enlargingly displaces material radially in the base wall, said ribs being coactive to displace material in the base wall at the radially inner sides of the ribs coactively with the radially outward displacement etfected by said tapered portion on the heading nipple.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lorenz Aug. 3, 1886 OLeary Oct. 17, 1911 Monnot June 3, 1913 George May 18, 1915 Paque Aug. 9, 1921 Bell Nov. 3, 1925 Zimmerman Sept. 17, 1935 Biginelli Dec. 19, 1939 Lambeek May 30, 1944 Bodinaux June 5, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Belgium Dec. 31, 1951 Great Britain July 25, 1918 

